


Mantelpiece

by tucana



Category: Glee
Genre: Divorce, Fashion Designer Kurt, M/M, Oneshot, Teacher Blaine, they're old in this idk i like writing older klaine, tracey is in middle school
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-04
Updated: 2020-10-04
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:55:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,412
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26813248
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tucana/pseuds/tucana
Summary: Stress can destroy even the most loving of relationships. At their wedding, Kurt and Blaine felt like inseparable soulmates. Years after, the spark had diminished into nothing more than a flicker.
Relationships: klaine - Relationship
Comments: 2
Kudos: 9





	Mantelpiece

Tracey had gone out, with one of her new middle school friends, leaving Blaine home alone after school hours. He liked to use this opportunity to speed through the mountain of marking that piled on top of his desk, never seeming to decrease in size. Marking was the worst part of the job, if you disregarded the poor pay, the constant stress, the lacklustre teenagers, and the grade-hungry school board. His eyes bore into the paper, trying to make out the barely legible script, as he ran his hand through his thinning curls, rubbing his thumb against his forehead and sighing. 

The spark in his eyes had died out years ago. The fresh-faced, reckless, yet innocent Blaine Anderson of his adolescence was barely recognisable, the stress of academia had taken a harsh toll on him, making many think he was older than he was. His teaching had started to lose their passion, at times reaching an insufferable level of monotony. Every term, every year felt the same. Something had been missing, maybe something had even been  wrong , but Blaine couldn't pin it down.

Time flew by when he could actually focus, but once he looked up at the clock, he always realised he had marked less than expected. He pushed his office chair away from the desk, paying no attention to the sound of keys fitting through a rusty lock. Kurt shut the front door, throwing his bag to the side, heading straight to the kitchen in hopes that something smelt good. The kitchen was empty.

"Blaine!" He called, already frustrated. It was hard for Kurt to have any semblance of patience in the weeks leading up to a fashion show. The late nights were consistent, each becoming more hectic than the last, and once he got home, there was an equally hectic flurry of emails waiting for him, asking for advice, asking for a problem to be solved, asking for trouble. He carelessly tossed his keys in the pot, calling his husband again. Blaine appeared in the doorframe, not looking especially overjoyed to see Kurt. "What?" Kurt pointed to the dishwasher, receiving a mere shrug from Blaine. He opened the dishwasher, pulling out the lower rack to show a mass of clean plates. "Why didn't you empty it?"

"I was marking. Nice to see you too, Kurt." He said, sarcastically.

Kurt rolled his eyes. "It's already so late. Could you really have not spared five minutes to do it?"

"You know how tiring marking can be, and how long it takes. I need to get it done. It's all due tomorrow, the kids need their papers back."

"Tiring?" Kurt slammed the dishwasher shut, harder than he had anticipated. "You don't think I'm tired too? With all these late nights?" He folded his arms, walking over to the fridge to look for a bottle of wine to get him through the night. This had become routine for the couple, each dispute becoming more petty than the last. Kurt toyed with the corkscrew in his hand, waiting for a response from Blaine, who just sighed, getting a drink for himself. "Where's Tracey?" Kurt asked.

"Out."

"Oh." His wine glass was full, more than it should be, and he wrestled with the temptation to drink it in one go. "The show's looking to be one of my best yet, thanks for asking."

"Don't do this again." Blaine sighed, looking away from him. "I'm sorry I have my own things to worry about! I'm sorry I don't get chance to empty the dishwasher. I just feel like I'm apologising to you constantly, like you're never happy, you always have something to nitpick about me. I didn't exactly choose to be swamped with marking almost every night. You know that's not why I decided to teach."

"That might not be why, but you still knew it would lead to this! We had this discussion when you wanted to start teaching again. I told you it was a risk, and would lead to us juggling too much stuff in too little time, especially with everything Tracey does."

"So you wanted me to stay at home? Be your obedient stay-at-home husband? Do the dishwasher for you before you get back and have a three course meal laid out beautifully on the table for you? I'm sorry if me not doing the dishwasher is just a step too far for you!" Blaine's voice started to wobble. He struggled to stay composed in arguments. He knew he wasn't far from bursting into tears. He knew it was bigger than the dishwasher.

"You know that's not what I wanted."

"I felt trapped! Running around after Tracey all day. I had no purpose outside of being a father. Teaching is my passion, Kurt."

"Is it?" Kurt finished his first glass, immediately pouring a second, looking his husband straight in the eye. "I would never have guessed, with the amount you complain." He felt a little harsh, but didn't care in the heat of the moment.

"And is fashion yours? I'm not the only one complaining."

They stood opposite each other, in complete silence. Their almost nightly arguments always started from the smallest of things, quickly evolving into an analysis of a deeper issue. Resolution never lasted more than a day. Some nights resolution never came, and the two slept as far apart as possible, their backs facing each other. Intimacy was rarer than a blue moon, and came more out of physical necessity rather than emotional connection. Neither wanted to admit the severity of their issues to each other. Neither wanted to say, out loud, how deep these issues ran. 

Kurt brushed past Blaine, putting his glass on the kitchen counter, heading into the living room. Blaine followed, sitting on the sofa. Kurt stood by the fireplace, looking at the array of photographs on the mantelpiece. Central to the display was a wedding photo. Back then, it felt like nothing could go wrong, that they could do anything they wanted to, and the world was theirs to own and discover. Over the years, their world shrank, limited by responsibilities and stress and bills and-

"We were so happy." Kurt muttered under his breath, not wanting Blaine to hear. He glanced to the left of the wedding photo, toward the first photo of Tracey. She looked so innocent, and the innocence was reflected in Blaine and Kurt's faces. The struggles of parenthood had worn the innocence away. Tracey was amazing, but hard. They had initially wanted to have more children, but the idea had faded away by the time she started school. She was meticulous about extra-curriculars in elementary, taking up ballet, soccer, violin, piano, and begging the two to take up a language class. Middle school had been hard on her, only adding to her fathers' stress. She didn't fit in. She didn't know why, but kids had suddenly become a lot bigger, and a lot meaner. Ballet was the first to go, then violin, then soccer, until she was left with just piano. Her passion for it was waning. Blaine gave it a few months until she would ask to give it up.

The silence continued. They both knew what was coming, but neither were brave enough to be the first to say it, out loud.

"Thi-" They said in unison, both pausing. "You first." Blaine said, maintaining what was left of their civility.

"This isn't working."

"I know."

"I think we should get a divorce."

"What? That's not what I me-"

"Just, think about it, okay?" Kurt turned around to face him. "I love you. I really do. Please don't think I hate you. This just isn't working for us."

"Okay." Blaine whispered, not able to push through anything else. He nodded. "Okay." 

Both were crying now. The silence was still there. It felt worse now. Everything was finally out in the open. They knew it was coming, but it felt more  real  now. Divorce had stopped being a late night thought, or a 40 minute long shower consideration. It was now inevitable. Neither knew how to proceed. 

"I'm not just saying this, you know? I've been debating this with myself for months now."

That made Blaine feel worse. "I know. I'm going to finish marking." He whispered, getting up and heading out, leaving Kurt alone.

Kurt took the wedding photo into his hands, letting a tear fall onto the glass. He placed it back onto the mantelpiece, face down. 


End file.
